Out of Tragedy Comes Love
by SouthernHemmy
Summary: I have seen so many images of the Joplin and Tucscaloosa disasters that I wrote about it. Sometimes when tragedy strikes something good comes out of it. Please give it a chance. Hemmy


_I live in the south where these monsters that I am writing about in this fic actually happen. They leave behind so much destruction that it makes us wonder what we have done to warrant such retribution from Mother Nature or God. It could be the way we treat each other. If you want to feel what I did writing this than google or yahoo the Joplin or Tuscaloosa tornadoes the pictures speak for themselves. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones, homes, and their very way of life. Please help them with donations or prayers. They need the help and the hope to survive this catastrophe. _

Out of Tragedy Comes Love

The dark ominous sky held a deadly secret. Sirens began wailing a warning to the local residents. Stark bright white lines stretched from rolling clouds to the damp earth below exploding in an orange blue burst of light. Deafening thunder rumbled quickly behind every lightening flash or strike.

There was no time for anyone to truly react as a demon from the skies left the heavens began to walk upon the earth leaving a broken and barren wasteland in its wake. Trees were stripped bare of leaves and limbs leaving behind stark reality of the power of the demon. Homes were whisked away their remains scattered across the entire town. Cars were like aluminum foil crushed and twisted tossed in every direction.

The demon's rampage felt like it lasted hours but in harsh reality it was merely minutes. A town lay in ruins. Slowly life began to emerge from the rubble left behind.

Lives were lost that day. Love was found amidst the ruins of Lima Ohio.

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Growing up in Ohio meant growing up with what nature could dish out at you; bitter winters, hot as hell summers, floods, and the one thing that you couldn't run from, tornadoes.

New Directions was meeting that afternoon to rehearse for Nationals. Everyone was to meet in the choir room of the empty school that Saturday. Will looked at the darkening skies as the kids began to arrive. All of the kids were accounted for except Puck and no one had seen him in the parking lot. Rachel was asked to call him but her phone had no signal and the others checked theirs and it was the same for them, no one had a signal.

Finn began to panic watching the doorway silently begging for the one person that he truly loves to walk in with some lame story of why he was late. They had actually had a fist fight last night when Puck admitted he had feelings for Finn. _The wrong kind of feelings_ and true to Finn's homophobic nature he had pounded Puck into the ground. He stopped only when he realized Puck was not fighting back but just taking punch after punch no matter where it landed on the muscled tanned body.

He remembers the defeated look in Puck's eyes, the tears that had glistened on the dark lashes. He could see the emotional hurt in those damn mesmerizing hazel eyes. He did the only thing he could think of at the time; he ran away even as he heard Puck's cracking voice begging him to come back.

Sitting there waiting for Puck, thinking about last night made Finn realize something; he loved Puck. Thinking that he may never see the dark skinned jock again and not be able to say how sorry he was for lashing out at him. No matter how wrong it may seem to the world or at least to Lima Ohio, he loved his best friend.

A few minutes passed and still no Puck. Just as Finn was about to walk out and look for Puck, the sirens began to scream their warnings. He knew that Puck was out there somewhere alone and that he was frightened. Finn stood up looking at the rest of his friends knowing they would be safe he began to walk towards Mr. Shue.

Will knew this drill by heart and had prayed with each passing storm that it would never happen while there were kids in the school. He began to usher out the kids into the hallway when Sue appeared at the door and told him to get the kids into his office. "It has more protection" she shouted over the sirens. Will nodded his head and started leading them into the small interior room.

"Mr. Shue I have to go find Puck!" Finn shouted at Will and began to walk towards the hallway before being hauled back to the small room by Sue. "It's too close son, you have to stay here!" Sue shouted at him as she forcibly pushed him into the room before closing the door.

The Glee kids knew the positions to take, they had drills in the spring almost weekly when the storm season began. The girls huddled up against the walls kneeling hands over their heads. The boys tried to provide protection by covering the girls' bodies with their own. Will and Sue had a tugging match over who was going to protect the other both finally trying to protect the kids. Everyone praying crying out to whatever deity they believed in and some were calling out for their parents.

Suddenly there is no sound, it is like being deaf. Their ears pop as the walls begin to shake. The sounds of a rolling train at full speed, metal begins to scream as it is being twisted by the sheer force of the winds. CD's fly off the shelves, sheet music swirls around the small room. Will's desk begins to slide against the kids. Sounds of cracking wood and breaking glass can be heard above the roar. Ceiling tiles and debris fall on the students and their teachers. The loud roar begins to fade but they stay huddled down waiting for the sirens to stop signaling the monster has passed them by. What had felt like hours were only minutes and it was over.

The kids began to try and stand up but the debris was holding them down to the floor. Will and Finn began pushing upwards as hard as they could; trying to make a hole in the pile of rubble. Sue joined in their efforts.

Once they had broken through the three gasped in shock as they were greeted with the skyline above them; the roof was gone. The three of them began to check everyone over as they emerged from the pile. No serious injuries were found other than scrapes and bruises on the kids.

The door was blocked by the fallen rubble and could not be opened from the inside. The only way out appeared to be through the top of the small room. Mike being the skilled dancer's flexible body was the first to scale the walls using the bookshelves as a makeshift ladder to reach the top of the room. Sam followed him next both boys stopping when they reached a beam to stand on their mouths working but no words were coming through their lips.

"How bad is it?" Will asks when they stop climbing. He watches both boys freeze rooted the beam. "Come on guys talk to us!"

"Mike say something please!" Tina yells up to her boyfriend. She watches as he turns his head looking back down at her, there are tears streaming down his cheeks and his dark eye are filled with terror.

"It's all gone. Everything is gone! The trees! The locker room! Our cars! OH MY GOD! The neighborhood is GONE!" Sam is becoming hysterical the more he tells them what he is seeing and not seeing.

"Can we get out?" Sue knows it's bad but they all need to get out of the small room and find their families. "Other Asian talk to me NOW!"

"Y-yeah I think so but it would be better if we had some rope to get down the side of the building." Mike finds his voice. "I don't know if we can handle getting Artie out if we don't have some rope." _My_ _family…My little sister….Are they okay? _The words begin to play over and over in his head.

"Can you help the girls get out?" Will asks in a loud voice. He can see that the blonde quarter back is about to completely lose his composure. "Sam get a hold of yourself! Can you help the girls to climb out?" The sharpness of Will's voice seems to break the emotional hold that has over taken Sam.

"It's going to be rough and they are going to have to watch their footing but yeah I think they can make it." Sam wipes his tears away on the sleeve of his hoodie. _This can't be real…This can't be happening…_

"Okay girls one at a time, Brittany you and Santana go first. Tina, Rachel, Mercedes watch where they put their feet and hands and try to follow them." Sue instructs the girls, she knows her former Cheerio's can handle it but she is worried about the others.

Finn is panicking on the inside worrying about Puck. _I got to get out of here! _Finn wants to tell everyone to get out of his way that he has to find Puck but he knows he has to help get the others out just from the way Mike and Sam reacted when they could look around.

_**Where were you when our world ended?**_

_**Did you want me there?**_

_**Were you calling out to me?**_

_**Did you scream for me cowering in fear?**_

_**Are you broken and bleeding, wishing I was there?**_

_**Do you need me to make all the pain go away?**_

_**Did you fight for this love and to stay alive?**_

Finn and Artie were the last of teens to climb out. Will and Sue were trying to help the large teen who was carrying Artie on his back. Artie was feather light but the makeshift ladder was becoming more unsteady with each step. Once he reached the top he froze like everyone else.

Most of the school had been destroyed along with the trees, the houses down the street, light poles had been snapped off. It was as if a bomb had gone off. Even the grass looked like someone scraped it off the dirt.

Finn felt Artie's hands tighten around his throat and the hot tears soaking through the back of his shirt. Finn wanted to scream to cry out why? He couldn't wrap his mind around what he was looking at, everything was wiped out. He began climbing down the other side of the wall when he heard the familiar rumble of a truck. He could feel the tears streaking down his cheeks, his hero was there.

Burt Hummel was driving erratic and frantic dodging down electric lines and pieces of houses and trees. He and his crew had survived by hiding in the oil change bays which are under ground. Burt knew that Kurt was safe at Dalton two hours from the disaster; Carole was safe at the hospital so he headed out to find Finn who had gone to rehearsal at the school. Driving through what was left of Lima made the strong burly Burt Hummel choke back a sob. Water lines erupting like geysers, gas lines becoming blow torches, and electric lines laying everywhere like poisonous snakes waiting to strike. He had one thought to make it to the kids, to make it to Finn. When he arrived at what was left of the school he could make out Finn clinging to what was left of the school roof he could feel his tears leaving his eyes freely.

Hiram and Albert Berry had ridden out the destruction in their basement. They were both terrified for their daughter Rachel. As soon as the noise of destruction stopped they dug their way out of the basement and started a wild frenzied drive to the school. Hiram yelling at Albert to calm down until they knew what had happened to their baby girl. He knew that they had to stay calm that he had to stay calm while he was driving. Everything they saw around them made them_ want_ to believe the worst had happened to Rachel and the other kids. They pulled up beside Burt's tow truck with Albert swearing to never let Hiram drive again. Both men screamed Rachel's name the minute they saw her safe.

Burt was grabbing a rope out of the back of his truck when he heard both men scream. He watched with a small smile of hope on his face as both men ran across the yard scooping up their daughter crying and scolding her for being out in the storm. He saw the looks on the other kids' faces and that hope slowly faded away. He could only pray that the other parents had made it safely through the destructive winds. He made his way over to the wall. "Need some help Buddy?" Burt all but choked on the words he spoke to his step son. He watched Finn wipe his face and nod at him.

Once everyone was safely out of the building Tina asked the adults what the town looked like. Hiram answered her the only way he knew "it looks like a war zone from the movies". Tina began to cry as did the other girls. Artie was frantic about his father, Mike and Sam was worried about their younger siblings as much as their parents. Finn began a frantic rush of words about Puck to Burt.

"Burt I got to find Puck. He didn't show up for rehearsal and our cell phones were out. I don't know where he is but I GOT TO FIND HIM! We had a really bad fight last night. He told me that he had feelings for me and I-I kept punching him. He didn't even try to hit me back he laid there letting me hit him. Please help me find him! Please Burt!" Finn is all but crying now in Burt arms.

"He's probably safe in their basement Finn." Burt tries to sooth the nearly hysterical teen. "I'm sure he's okay."

"He doesn't have a basement Mr. Hummel." Santana is fighting back tears looking at Burt. "We need to go check on him and his little sister please."

"If you're too scared to drive Hummel I would be more than happy to; we can't leave one out or behind." Sue cocks her eyebrow at Burt. They knew each other from when she was temporarily principle of the high school. She knew what buttons to push with the man.

"Sue it's too dangerous to be driving the streets we should.." Will is cut off by Burt's loud booming voice.

"You know you are an obnoxious bitch sometimes! Everybody get in the truck and the station wagon. Hiram follow me the best you can, blow the horn if you have to stop." Burt looks at the group wondering when their most feared tormentor became their strongest ally. He mentally flipped off Shue for being a stupid person.

Sue and the boys rode with Burt. Will and the girls rode with Hiram and Albert. The drive is long and treacherous. Burt and the boys stopped occasionally to move big pieces of debris out of the way so they could make it down the streets of Lima.

After about an hour had passed they finally made it to the street Puck lived on and Burt stopped his truck. A young girl was standing in the middle of the street screaming for help. Finn was out of the truck before Burt could stop him. Artie told Burt that was Puck's little sister Sarah. Burt drove to what was left of the house she was standing in front of parking the truck.

"**Finnnnnnnnn! You g-got to help P-Puck! He's hurt real bad and he can't move!"** The young Sarah cried as she ran to Finn. **"Please F-Finn!" **

Finn grabs the small girl and starts to run towards the house she points to the two walls that are left standing it used to be the downstairs bathroom. He watches for electric lines and he can hear the others running behind him. He sits Sarah down on the sidewalk telling her to go to Santana. He doesn't watch as Santana engulfs the hysterical child trying to comfort her. The rest of the girls gather around them making soothing noises.

Finn is crying out Puck's name trying to get an answer from him, just something to know he is okay. He starts jerking pieces of wall out of his way trying to make a pathway. Burt, Rachel's fathers and Sue fall in beside him helping him reach the boy he loves.

They struggle for a few minutes until they finally reach the old cast iron tub. They can hear a muffled voice under the last of the debris covering it. Finn can see a bloody hand resting on a piece of sheetrock. A strangled sob escapes Finn's throat as he goes to grab a piece that is laying over the tub until Sue stops him.

"Wait! We need to be really careful son! Let me and Burt do this part, okay?" Sue isn't sure what shape the dark teen will be in and if Frankenteen will be able to handle it.

Finn just nods his head and looks at Burt silently pleading with the only man that has been a true father to him. Burt pats him on the back and begins to move the pieces carefully off the tub. Sue tells the other boys to find blankets that are clean.

Sarah is telling the girls how brave her No-No was during the storm. How he kept singing to her until the monster came and she couldn't hear him sing anymore. He also said a prayer for Finn to keep him safe and everyone else too. She tells them that when she could hear again he wasn't singing anymore. She knew he was hurt because he couldn't even really talk to her. He kept shutting his eyes and he was bleeding. All the girls can do is take turns holding her promising that No-No would be okay.

Hiram and Albert had found an old First Aid kit in their station wagon. They took it to Sue who thanked them. They didn't know what else to do or how they could help. Until Hiram remember the bottle of water Albert always kept under his seat and sent his husband after that so the boy would have water at least.

The last piece was moved away from Puck as Finn all but collapsed by the old tub. Puck was lying on his left side. He had been trying to cover Sarah as much as possible. Puck's head, face and chest were bloody from cuts from the glass of the shower doors. His arm hanging outside of the tub was turned wrong; it was broken and cut up. Blood was dripping off his finger tips.

Finn began to talk to him begging him to wake up so he could tell him he was sorry and that he loved him. He gently stroked Puck's cheek trying to get him to open his eyes.

"Please Puck you got to wake up, you to let me tell you that I am so sorry for hitting you last night. I was scared and confused. I can't lose you Puck. I can't lose the one person that I love more than anything! God Dammit! PUCK WAKE UP! PLEASE!" He tries to hold back the fear of losing Puck but he can't and begins to sob loudly. He feels something brush his cheek opening his eyes he can see the dark lashes begin to flutter.

_Because I'm broken when I'm open_

_And I don't feel like I am strong enough_

_'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome_

_And I don't feel right when you're gone away_

_You've gone away, you don't feel me here anymore_

"Finn?" The panicked voice is almost a whisper. "Sarah? Where's Sarah? It hurts Finn, my arm hurts bad."

"Sarah is safe Puck. You got to stay awake! Puck! Please! I know it hurts." Finn's words become frantic not wanting to lose Puck, not after finding him. "I love you Puck. I was so scared of what I feel and when you said you feel the same way I just freaked out okay? I love you Puck and YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!"

_I wanted you to know that I love the way you laugh_

_I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away_

_And I keep your photograph, I know it serves me well_

_I wanna hold you high and steal your pain_

"I love you too Finn."

_The worst is over now and we can breathe again_

_I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away_

_There's so much left to learn and no one left to fight_

_I wanna hold you high and steal your pain_

Puck is loaded into the back of the Berry station wagon with Finn gently cradling him keeping Puck's arm as still as possible. Finn whispers loving words to Puck about the dates they could have, that they could double date with Santana and Brittany. Hiram smiles at Albert listening to the young jock's words remembering when they found each other. Albert reaches over and holds Hiram's hand for just a moment squeezing it a soft smile playing on his lips as a tear escapes down his cheek. They don't have to say a word to each other and he knows that the boys in the back will be like that too.

Carole greets them all at the hospital tears of joys and hugs are passed out to all the kids before they find out that their parents were inside and waiting for them. She watches her son hold Puck against his chest like his life depended on that boy in his arms and who knows may be he finally figured out what she knew all along; they belonged together. She ushers them straight to the ER and grabs one of the doctors. She knows that there are others that need medical attention but she isn't about to let Finn lose Puck, not now.

An hour later the doctor goes out to the crowd that is waiting and tells them that Puck's arm is broken in two places, he has numerous cuts and bruises but that he should make a full recovery in no time. The "family of Noah Puckerman" erupts in to fits of joy.

Sue hugs Burt which causes everyone but Carole to stare. Finn begs to see Puck while the others hug him and demand to know since when were they a couple. Finn's response…"Since now."

The aftermath of the storm left many lives lost. But out of the desolation and destruction was born a love that would with stand the constraints of society, petty bickering and arguing. A love that sheltered them from hate. A love that helped them to raise two sons and one daughter. A love that Hiram and Albert were more than happy to compare to their own.

A/N Song is Broken by Seether

A/N 2-There is no Lauren in this fic. I am unable to write a character that I do not like. Sorry if it offends you...Hemmy


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